Macedonia holds polls crucial for EU bid

Macedonia is set to vote in presidential and local elections seen as crucial for its EU membership bid, amid tight security aimed at avoiding deadly incidents such those that marred previous polls.

Almost 1.8 million eligible voters will choose a new president with a five-year mandate, as well as mayors and councillors of major towns in the former Yugoslav republic.

Police patrols have been reinforced in regions where incidents occurred in previous polls in a bid to prevent a repetition of the unrest seen in ethnic Albanian areas during elections last June, when one person was killed and several others wounded in gun battles.

Some 8,500 police officers were given written instructions on how to act on election day and prevent violence at polling stations as a part of a special security plan drawn up by the interior ministry.

The authorities, presidential candidates but also international officials have appealed for violence-free elections that would be conducted in accordance with international standards and serve as a proof of the Balkan country's ability to organise free and fair polls.

European Union enlargement chief Olli Rehn says the elections are a "moment of truth" for Macedonia, which has yet to start EU accession talks four years after becoming an official candidate to join the bloc.

The polls will be the fourth presidential and local elections in the country since it proclaimed independence in 1991.

The presidential candidate from Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's conservative VMRO-DPMNE party, George Ivanov, was leading in the latest opinion polls, but was not expected to win enough votes to avoid an April 5 runoff.

The main opposition Social Democratic Union (SDSM) party's candidate Ljubomir Frckoski was lagging far behind and was expected to face a stiff fight with ethnic Albanian candidate Imer Selmani to get into the runoff.

Nicknamed the "Macedonian Obama", Mr Selmani represents the ethnic Albanians who account for 25 per cent of the population but also sought to appeal to Macedonians by pledging to lead the former Yugoslav republic to EU membership.

Macedonia in 2001 narrowly averted a civil war amid strong ethnic Albanian discontent, when a conflict between Macedonian security forces and ethnic Albanian separatists ended with a peace accord giving the minority more rights and control over local affairs.

The voting was at risk of disruptions due to bad weather, as heavy snow blanketed the country Friday and Saturday, causing transport problems including the cancellation of flights and the closure of airports.

Polling stations were set to open at 7:00am (local time) and close 12 hours later, with the first preliminary results expected on election night.

More than 500 international and around 7,000 local observers were set to monitor the vote.